Creatability is a yearlong programme that will offer 50 young people with additional support needs the opportunity to take part in inspirational aerial dance sessions. The weekly sessions will be delivered by All or Nothing, Scotland’s leading aerial dance practitioners working closely with Waterbaby Dance, a leading company in Scotland who specialise in working with young people with additional needs. These sessions will culminate in an exciting performance piece presented at the Beacon Arts Centre for participant’s family, friends and the wider community to attend.

Aerial dance is unique in the movement possibilities it opens up for a disabled young person. It incorporates ropes or silks often attached to the ceiling allowing participants to explore space in three dimensions. This is an especially liberating experience for those with profound disabilities as it allows them to experience weightlessness and complete freedom from their wheelchairs. Flying at low levels aerial dance allows the participant to learn new skills such as pushing, spinning, stretching and swinging. In addition to this, the learning focus is on creativity allowing the teaching to be fully inclusive for the participants taking part.

The Creatabilty programme has successfully ran in a ten week block for the last two years and has involved partners such as Reach for Autism, Barnardo’s and local additional support needs school Craigmarloch. Creatability has had a fundamental impact and benefit on the quality of the young people’s lives. These include physical benefits such as increased range of movement, strength, agility and balance. Cognitive benefits such as increased focus, memory function and ability to socially engage with piers. Other benefits included improved mood, sleeping patterns and confidence. From participant feedback it can be seen that the young people particularly enjoyed being part of a team, having fun and expressing themselves creatively. The development of the year round programme is in response to the participants and their family’s desire for the programme to evolve in to a year round provision in their local area in-turn giving disabled young people the same opportunities as their non-disabled peers. This level of engagement will provide a sense of achievement and increase confidence and self-esteem.

A considerable benefit to this project has been the strengthened network of support developed between the project partner organisations. We will continue to nurture this increased engagement and connection, developing a wider social and support network that continues to open up pathways to inclusivity across Inverclyde, reaching out to young people with a disability who have had barriers to, or little opportunity, to access the arts.

42 young people with autism or additional support needs participated in phase one of the project, increasing to 45 in phase two. 50 will be the participation target for phase three.

Statistics gathered from participant’s evaluation forms
All participants noted an increase in confidence.
All participants felt that working as a team was easier than usual.
100% of the participants felt their movement skills had greatly improved
100% of the participants rated their experience of the project as ‘fantastic’.
39 of the 42 participants felt more motivated than usual.

Statistics gathered from guardians:
100% of guardians have expressed a strong desire for the project to continue.
When asked to rate the groups experience, 100% of the guardians gave the top rating of ‘fantastic’.
When asked to rate their child’s level of engagement, 100% of guardians stated that they were fully engaged throughout.
The quality of teaching and the content of the workshops was rated as exceptional by 100% of the guardians.
All guardians noted health benefits as a result of young people taking part in Creatability. Some highlights include improved sleep, mood, confidence, agility, balance and energy.

These quotes from participants guardians give us reasons to feel proud of the Creatability project:
“Brilliant! I felt really emotional watching; it’s great that kids with disabilities are not being held back.”
“A delight to see the support they gave to each other.”
“Inclusion at its best!”

Help us develop this fantastic community resource for present and future generations.

Beacon Arts Centre is a registered Scottish charity and exists to provide life enriching creative, social and work training experiences. The Beacon aspires to offer the widest choice of affordable arts and cultural activities to everyone in Inverclyde.

Thank you for the support you give every time you visit, come to performance or eat in our Bistro. Choose to become more involved and in return we aim enhance your enjoyment of the arts at The Beacon. Together we can continue to make a real difference to the lives of people in Inverclyde.

As a charity registered in Scotland, Beacon Arts Centre is keen to offer opportunities to those wishing to get back into the workplace, who may have limited work experience or who have been out of the job market for some time.

Volunteering is also a great way to stay connected and to meet new people. So for those with a bit of time on their hands why not develop your social circles by volunteering?

Did you know that you can help Beacon Arts Centre raise funds for FREE just by shopping online? Now, every time you shop online via Give as you Live at 4,000+ top retailers including Amazon, eBay, John Lewis and Expedia, a FREE donation will be made to us and it won’t cost you a penny extra! Plus, if you shop through the Give as you Live website, you can access top offers so you can save money and raise money!

Once the needs of family and friends are met, a bequest in your Will is a wonderful way to continue your tradition of support and will help protect Beacon Arts Centre in the future.

Our promise to you is to make sure your gift will be spent in the most cost effective way, where it is needed most.

How to leave a legacy, and help the arts in Inverclyde to thrive

It is very simple to include a legacy in your Will and we would always recommend that you use a solicitor to draft your Will and detail any gifts and legacies that you wish to bequest.

We have partnered with McClure Solicitors who can provide a FREE will service for charities, to use this service follow this LINKor call 0800 852 1999. You can use this service whether you are drafting a Will for the first time or updating an existing Will.

Legacies to charities, such as Greenock Arts Guild, are exempt from inheritance tax and could help reduce your liability as the value of the gift will be deducted from the estate before the tax is calculated. All of your gift would go directly to Greenock Arts Guild.

Please remember to use our full name, correct registered address and charity number in any Will:
The Greenock Arts Guild Limited,
Beacon Arts Centre,
Custom House Quay,
Greenock,
PA15 1HJ

We can offer a unique venue in which to do business, and access to over 100,000 annual visitors to help raise your brand profile.

Sponsorship

Sponsorship of a show, season or festival for direct brand building amongst carefully targeted audiences. We will work with you to create a bespoke package of benefits to suit your business needs, match your customer profile and reach your long-term strategic goals.

Oak Mall Shopping Centre sponsored our Pantomime in 2015 & 2016.

Events and Hire

You can book any kind of event at The Beacon. As well as being Inverclyde’s home to the arts, we also provide facilities for Events, Business Conferences, Performances, Weddings, Classes, Clubs and everything in between.

You can expect to receive nothing but the best for your event, and with our unique river views and relaxing atmosphere you will be immersed in the heart of Inverclyde’s newest creative environment.

We have 3 large rooms, each have spectacular views over the firth of Clyde; these rooms are suitable for use as meeting space, rehearsals or can be conjoined into a function or conference suite for up to 170 dinner guests.

When you book an event in one of our exclusive private suites we will be able to offer you a full catering service to suit your needs and budget.

We are offering a unique opportunity to Take a Seat in the main auditorium of Beacon Arts Centre, and to have it named in your honour, or in honour of a friend or loved one, by mounting a plaque affixed to the back of the seat, containing the desired name.

You can Take a Seat with a donation of £500.

This could be for yourself, or given as a special gift for an important person in your life. We currently have inscriptions ranging from anonymous messages of support, to ‘in memoriam’ inscriptions for a loved one; and messages which celebrate a special anniversary or event.

Your donation will be used to support all aspects of the theatre’s work – from the staging of plays to our extensive programme of education and outreach activity.

You will be able to choose your preferred seat and we will keep the plaque on the seat for ten years.

If you would like to Take a Seat or find out more about this donation scheme please contact:
Jill Thomson, Development Manager jill@beaconartscentre.co.uk or call 01475 723723

Become a Patron of Beacon Arts Centre for a minimum donation of £120 a year

Your support will facilitate a creative learning programme to ensure that our local children and young people can engage with the arts and continue to be inspired by the benefits this engagement offers in terms of their personal and social development.

Offer our young artists and performers a chance to shine

In appreciation of your generosity, we will do what we can to enhance your enjoyment of the arts at The Beacon and will let you know just how much your support is helping.

• As an initial thank you we are offering a piece of specially commissioned stationery by renowned local glass artist, Alec Galloway

• You will be entitled to a 10% discount on 20 tickets per year, for selected performances

• Throughout the year there will be opportunities to attend exclusive rehearsals, previews and special events

• We will invite you to an annual supporter’s event to update you on what your donation has achieved and to look ahead at new challenges

• We can offer you excellent seats for every performance, set aside exclusively for Patrons

• We can guarantee you ticket returns up to 48 hours before a performance

• Your generosity will be formally acknowledged in our annual reports and on our website

Your annual donation covers your household so you can become a Beacon Patron as an individual, a couple or a family.

Donations can be paid in monthly instalments if preferred, which means you can become a Beacon Patron for just £10 per month.

For VAT purposes your donation includes a payment for benefits of £25 (including VAT). The remainder of your contribution is outside the scope of VAT and will be treated as a donation. A minimum payment of £25 secures all Patron benefits and you may purchase these separately without making a further donation. The balance of £95 is a suggested donation to which Gift Aid provisions apply.